Strength
by ffreaderwriter
Summary: Sometimes you need someone else to be your strength.
1. Chapter 1

**Strength**

_Sometimes you need someone else to be your strength._

Felicity gasped listening to Oliver, a silent tear fell down her face.

"Tommy, no. No!" Oliver moaned kneeling over his best friend's body. This was his fault. He hadn't made it here in time and now Tommy was dead.

"Oliver." The sound of low and soft, Oliver looked up at Tommy's face hoping that the sound had come from him and that this was all a bad dream. But, it wasn't.

"Oliver, I need you to listen to me." Felicity said. "You need to get out of the building now, before the rest of it collapses."

The channel remained silent except for the background noise of the building shifting. "Oliver, do you hear me? You need to get you and Tommy out of that building now."

"Okay." Oliver took a breath pulling his hood up over his head. Tommy deserved a proper burial. If it was the last thing he did, he was going to make sure he got them out of this building.

Oliver laid Tommy's body on the street on autopilot he switched on the voice modulator. He didn't care about getting caught now or Laurel or her father seeing him now. He didn't care about anything. How could he have let this happen? He was the one that was supposed to be risking his life not Tommy. He turned away from Laurel, taking a few steps away. He couldn't face her now. Not now. Not like this.

"Tommy!"

Detective Lance held onto his daughter's writhing form the best he could. . "Laurel. You don't want to go over there." He shouted to be heard over her screams. "Tommy!"

Laurel wiggled free of her father's grasp and ran over to Tommy's body. "No! No!" Laurel placed both of her hands around Tommy's face. "No, no, no, no, no"

"Why couldn't you save him?" Laurel asked. "You should have saved him."

The words hit Oliver like a knife through the heart. He turned towards Laurel opening his mouth to say something, but words wouldn't come out.

"He did the best he could, sweetheart." Detective Lance said approaching his daughter. "He did the best anyone could."

"Oliver" the same quiet tone came across his earpiece. "More police are coming to the area. You need to leave."

"I'm sorry." The words came out just above a whisper. Oliver looked up spotting Diggle in the shadows nearby.

"Come on. Let's go." Diggle said placing an arm around Oliver.

Felicity took several deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. She was going to have to stay strong a little while longer. The guys were going to be coming in in rough shape. "Medical supplies, right. Stay focused on the task at hand. You can't fall apart yet."

Felicity turned off all the news scanners. It was too much to deal with at the moment. She gathered up the gauzes, blood, and other essential items just at the two injured men came through the door.

Diggle placed Oliver on the table and Felicity gave a cursory look over both of their wounds. A dark red stained area spreading across the dark green material. It looked like a through and through. She glanced over at Diggle. His dark shirt stained with blood as well.

"See about him first." Diggle said before collapsing into a chair.

Oliver head lolled to one side. He needed a transfusion. "Oliver, can you help me get your top off?"

Felicity started working the leather top off but had to pry it away from the wound, causing a small grunt from Oliver. With the top clear, Felicity got her first good look at the wound. Stitches were a must. She began cleansing the area. "Do you want any pain medicine before I start?"

Getting no response; Felicity noticed Oliver's eyes glazed over. She didn't know if it was from the shock of the blood loss of the shock of losing his friend but she had never seen him this out of it before. "Okay, I am going to start sewing you up now."

Oliver turned and faced her, his piercing blue eyes looking straight at her. "Tommy's gone." Felicity noted the tear stained streak marks on his face.

"I know." She said.

Oliver turned away and she lost him again. Diggle moved towards Oliver to hold him steady while she started and IV line and transfusion.

A few minutes later Felicity was sewing up Diggle's wound. She glanced over at Oliver stretched out, resting on a nearby table – staring out into space.

"You think he is going to be okay?" Felicity asked, turning her attention back to Diggle.

Diggle sighed. "Yeah. It's going to be hard, but Oliver's tough."

"He's not the only one that is tough." Diggle said. "You did good tonight. How are you doing?"

His praise broke her strength. The tears came. She looked down, focused on packing the remains of a gauge roll back into the kit until she could trust her voice. "I don't know you handle this kind of stuff on a regular basis."

"I know from experience that it is not easy. Not everyone can do it." Diggle said. "You did very well."

"I think it's a very good thing he has you."

Felicity wiped at her tears. "It's a good thing that he has both of us."

A/N: Thanks again to my lovely beta. Hope everyone enjoyed. Please review. Oh, and one more thing. *in best announcer voice* This story was brought to you by "Give Me Strength" by Snow Patrol.


	2. Chapter 2

**Strength** ch 2

Felicity picked up her pace, dodging demolition crews, high heels teetering over broken sidewalk, sludge from a barricade smeared onto the muted suit she'd worn to Tommy's funeral. Nearly a week since the disaster and getting around the Glades was tricky, but she needed to get to the club. She knew he would be there. Alone.

Felicity exited from the ladies room changed from her dress into a more comfortable shirt and pants, and she saw him sitting there staring out into the darkness of the club. Oliver sat alone, the emergency lights casting a strange glow across his face.

She walked over and sitting silently next to him.

"Felicity, what are you doing here? You don't need to be here. You should go home." He spoke softly, the words a harsh whisper in the large empty space

"I'm here because I want to be here. I wouldn't be anywhere else right now." Felicity answered. She watched as Oliver turned, studying her expression, most likely for any sign of hesitation or wavering seeing none heturned back to the emptiness in front of him.

"I told my family I wanted to be alone."

"You told them you wanted to be alone so that you could come here."

Silence engulfed them once more.

"This whole place was Tommy's ideas, from the lightning to the chairs, and it is all gone just like him."

"The club's not too broken that it can't be fixed." Felicity said, adding. "Neither are you."

"What makes you so sure?" Oliver asked facing her.

"I'm the IT girl. Remember? I know when something is too broken that it can't be fixed – even if it's a laptop with bullet holes in it."

A ghost of a smile crossed his face at the reminder of their first meeting.

Oliver faced the blackness once more. "It's my fault that Tommy's dead. I should have been there. "

"Oliver." She spoke softly. "You couldn't have prevented Tommy's death. You did all that you could do. All anyone could have done."

Oliver shook his head.

"No one is blaming you for Tommy's death. You shouldn't blame yourself."

Oliver shook his head again. "Laurel does. She asked me why I didn't save him. I should have saved him."

"Oliver, look at me." Felicity got no response. "Oliver, please look at me."

Oliver turned; the utter sadness and vulnerability in his blue eyes pierced her. "This was not your fault. Tommy's father killed him when he set off that machine. Think off all the people you saved. Or if you want think of Tommy. Tommy wouldn't want you sitting here blaming yourself. You can't shoulder all of this guilt Oliver. It will eat you up inside."

She could see Oliver's stone façade beginning to slip back into place and decided to change tactics before she lost him.

"Oliver, when was the last time that you slept?"

Oliver shrugged. "I don't really sleep. Haven't in a long time."

"You need to get some rest or you will be no good to yourself or anyone else."

A small smile appeared on Oliver's face. "Okay, mom." She hadn't meant for it to come out sounding like nagging but if it made Oliver smile, it was worth it.

"Come on downstairs and take a nap while I work on some stuff." She reached out her hand, and he took it without question.

Felicity patted the metal table where she had operated on Oliver. "Good soft bed here." She felt better as she was greeted with another small smile. She grabbed a nearby towel tossing it to him as he jumped up on the table and curled it under his head.

She stepped back a few steps to not invade his personal space and pointed to a nearby chair. "I'm going to stay right here."

Felicity sat down getting her laptop situated, stopping briefly when she heard. "Thank you."

She smiled at the fact that his blue eyes though still heavy looked a little brighter. There was something there now. Hope.

A/N: Thanks to my lovely beta. Hope y'all enjoyed. Please let me know if you liked it.


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